Off
to Cumberland County! (+56
Miles) November 16, 2010: Migration Day 38

Photo:
Operation Migration

Whoop,
whoop!
After ten days of waiting
it out in Piatt County, IL, the weather conditions finally let them
fly! Today the migration got 56 miles shorter as they winged their
way to Cumberland County, Illinois. Seven birds flew with Richard
and three with Brooke—but not without giving them a real struggle.
Listening live on Operation Migration's TrikeCam, you
hear some pilot chatter and see winds flapping
the
costume. We heard Brooke radio to Joe: "They found #2-10 and
they're going to walk him back to the pen." Only one more stop
remains in
Illinois,
at 338 miles the longest state on the migration route.
Last year they arrived at Cumberland County
on Nov.
30, so today we gained miles and smiles!

(a) It's
time to update your charts! How
many miles have the young birds flown
so
far? What kind of day do you think
#2-10 had?
(b-for-bonus) Imagine you are on the ground crew. Read Trish's words
about the start of the day. Then finish
the story.
What are you
feeling?
What are your next actions? Your worries? Your hopes? "We prepare the pen for
release. We take down the guy wires so we can open the
release
panels.
We pull
the top
net back
so
the
chicks
won’t get caught
on it when they’re coming out of the pen. We take down the electric fence
so they won’t trip on it in their rush to take off. The chicks are peeping
their welcomes. They know the difference between a potential fly day and a
down day because Geoff and I don’t go inside the pen right away. Now
we stand and wait. What will the next moment bring? We hear the trike engine
start. The chicks hear it too and start hollering for us to let them out of
the pen. But we wait. We listen to the radio – still
with no idea what the next moment will bring. Even after the pilot lands, we
still don’t know what will happen. Will they stay or will they go?"